Kenrokuen

Written by: adekun on 6 December, 2009 4:37 pm - Filed under: japan — No Comments »

Across from the castle, Kenrokuen, for me was all the more appealing. Quite at odds to how I felt in Kyoto at Ryōan-ji; vivid colours (even under the bleak sky), countless trees and water features. Perhaps the sky made a good contrast for the gold and deep red leaves.
The park offers a good opportunity to see a technique called yukitsuri. Trees in need of protection the heavy snow, are supported with a conical array of rope. Some are given further help with bamboo struts. Continue reading

Tags: ishikawa, japan, travel

Kanazawa Castle

Written by: adekun on 30 November, 2009 7:57 pm - Filed under: japan — No Comments »

Kanazawa Castle seems a lot less like a castle without a keep; more so as it sits in such large grounds. After numerous fires and rebuilds, only a few structures remain. The brochure said they were restored recently using traditional construction methods. However, the inside of the watchtowers and interconnecting warehouse looked as if they fell victim to one of the popular “house reform” television programmes. Continue reading

Tags: castle, ishikawa, japan, travel

Long way to Ishikawa

Written by: adekun on 23 November, 2009 8:59 pm - Filed under: blog — No Comments »

Rather overdue for a trip afield, I was glad to be given the chance to go with some friends of a relative. It was an early start. We left at five in the morning. After travelling across, down, up and along, an hour lunch stop was taken in Kanazawa. A further hour after that, the furthest destination was reached. It was by then three o’ clock in the afternoon. The route took us through countless and sometimes seemingly endless tunnels.

Tags: travel

Asiana Airlines

Written by: adekun on 10 July, 2009 10:32 am - Filed under: blog — No Comments »

We took advantage of an offer from Asiana Airlines (Airline of the Year) for our recent trip. A few things could have been better and a few beyond any carrier’s remit. The queue for the toilet found the baby a convenient distraction throughout the whole flight. The bassinet was not held flush against the wall. Rather than it be at right angles, it had a good 30° slant and was of no use as it was. The layout of the plane meant my legs were in the aisle; the chicane between the toilets and the first row in economy class. Having had them trod on and run over with the trolley, I had the pleasure of the imbecile passengers who couldn’t manage to close the toilet door. Continue reading

Tags: travel, whinge

English garden

Written by: adekun on 2 July, 2009 10:32 am - Filed under: blog — No Comments »

It would have been nice to have spent more time in gardens; especially beer gardens, but alas our time in England is coming to an end. I was encouraged to see that the town’s allotments had expanded and not developed unlike the immediate surrounds. The other allotments went that way over a decade ago before the recent interest.

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Tags: england, travel

Flower Town

Written by: adekun on 26 June, 2009 9:35 am - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »

It is so good to be back in England. Even the weather makes the long list of reasons. Instead of the cold wave we had over our last trip, it has, and looks set to remain around the 30°C mark. It will make the busy schedule busier.

Tags: england, travel

Korea transit

Written by: adekun on 21 June, 2009 8:37 pm - Filed under: blog — 2 Comments »

The first leg of our trip back to England included an overnight stay in Seoul. It was our first time in Korea and we were both surprised at differences between it and Japan; the relaxed impression it gave, at odds with other big cities. Nevertheless the bus ride in was unsettling. In what was glum weather, the bus thundered toward the traffic drifting across each lane. Most of the vehicles had scrapes down the sides, even those with the funny blue protectors.

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Tags: travel